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Welcome to JW Broadcasting®!
This month, we’ll learn how to embrace
Jehovah’s full and loving view of us,
we’ll dig deep into the book of Micah
for some valuable lessons
on honesty and modesty,
and we’ll see how even the smallest
acts of kindness
can have a lasting impact on others.
This is JW Broadcasting!
Dear friends,
have you ever felt like this sister
who wrote in a letter:
“No matter how much I love Jehovah
“or how much effort I put forth to serve him,
I always feel that it is not good enough”?
Sadly,
at times our imperfect hearts can tell us
that no matter how hard we try,
we’re never good enough to please Jehovah.
Or even though you know Jehovah
is a forgiving God,
perhaps you still feel condemned for things
you’ve said or done in the past.
Mistakes or sinful things
that we’ve said or done in the distant past
can constantly be played back in our mind,
making us discouraged or depressed.
Likely, most of us have experienced
feelings like this from time to time.
Why can we say this?
Well, let’s consider
what Jehovah inspired
the apostle John to write
at 1 John 3:19, 20.
These verses are the basis
for this discussion with the theme
“God Is Greater Than Our Hearts.”
First John 3:19, 20 reads:
“By this we will know
“that we originate with the truth,
“and we will assure our hearts before him
“regarding whatever our hearts
may condemn us in,
“because God is greater than our hearts
and knows all things.”
Now, notice how John uses the plural form
“our hearts”:
“We will assure our hearts before him,”
and “our hearts may condemn us.”
So, yes, it was possible
even for the apostle John
to have negative feelings about himself.
But John gives us good reason to be confident
that Jehovah views us positively.
He says that we “know
that we originate with the truth.”
How did you become a Christian?
How did it start?
We heard and accepted
the truth from God’s Word.
We accepted Jesus Christ
and the truths he taught.
We rejected the world and its falsehoods.
We’ve tried to imitate Christ,
loving our brothers
and avoiding deliberate sin.
So “we originate with the truth.”
It’s the truth that made you and me
what we are.
That fact alone helps us be confident
that Jehovah approves of us
as part of his family.
Nevertheless,
occasionally our hearts may condemn us.
Why and how can that happen?
It involves our conscience.
Most often when God’s Word
mentions our heart,
it’s speaking figuratively
of what we are inside,
our total personality.
The Watchtower of August 1, 1997, stated:
“The Bible also links the conscience
“with the figurative heart,
which involves our feelings and emotions.”
Romans 2:15 is cited,
where Paul explains
how the conscience functions
even in persons not under the Mosaic Law.
Let’s read that.
Romans 2:15 says:
“They are the very ones
who demonstrate the matter of the law
“to be written in their hearts,
“while their conscience
is bearing witness with them,
“and by their own thoughts
they are being accused
or even excused.”
So our God-given conscience
can accuse or excuse us.
It can warn us not to take a wrong course.
Our conscience also comes into play
after we have done something wrong.
When David was running from King Saul,
he cut off a piece
of King Saul’s outer garment
when he was in a cave.
First Samuel 24:5 says
that “afterward David’s heart
kept striking him.”
The alternate rendering for “heart”
is “conscience.”
David’s conscience told him
he did something disrespectful toward Saul,
the appointed king.
Therefore, our conscience enables us
to look at ourselves and render judgment.
A guilty conscience can move us to repent
and to correct our course of action.
On the other hand,
if our conscience is overly critical,
there’s the danger of becoming
overwhelmed by guilt
and becoming convinced
that Jehovah will not forgive us,
no matter how repentant we are.
Or an overly critical conscience and heart
may tell us that we must be perfect
in order to please God.
As Paul explained at Romans 2:15,
our conscience acts as a judge
as to our guilt or innocence.
To illustrate,
imagine ourselves on trial in a court.
The judge, representing our conscience,
listens to all the facts
and evidence about us
that are presented by the witnesses
—our thoughts.
Now, a good judge will listen
to witnesses on both sides
to make a fair and right judgment.
However, what if the judge only listens
to witnesses for the prosecution
who accuse us?
Those accusing thoughts
call for strict justice and punishment.
In effect, they say to the judge:
‘He should never forget what he has done.
‘He should have known better.
‘He is weak and has wrong desires.
He deserves to go to prison for a long time.’
So this judge, having heard
only the accusing witnesses
and no witnesses for your defense,
hands down the judgment:
‘Guilty as charged!
You are sentenced to prison.’
Similarly, our conscience,
if not properly educated,
can be like that unfair judge
who sentences us
to a figurative prison of guilty feelings,
trapping us in a cycle of negative emotions
and preventing us from moving forward.
What kind of judge is your conscience?
Remember, a well-informed conscience
can also excuse us
if an overly critical thought arises.
So, then,
for our conscience to judge us properly,
we need to train it to
not only know Jehovah’s laws
but to know our Lawgiver, our ultimate Judge.
Notice this quote
from the September 1, 1976,
Watchtower article
“Training Our Conscience to Do More for Us”:
“Thus God’s personality,
“revealed in his Word
and in his dealings with his servants,
“is brought to the fore as the focal point
around which a good conscience
is to be developed.”
That’s the key.
The Bible teaches us
that Jehovah loves justice
but is reasonable in how he applies his law.
He’s full of mercy and loyal love
—he’s the very personification of love.
Knowing Jehovah’s qualities
should instruct our conscience
to judge ourselves in a balanced way
—not to be permissive,
justifying wrong conduct,
but at the same time
not judging ourselves unfairly or harshly.
So to continue the illustration,
the good judge who knows Jehovah
will also hear the witnesses for our defense.
These thoughts might testify:
‘Wait, judge,
this person is more than his past mistakes.
‘It’s time to forgive
and blot them from the record.
‘He’s paid the price;
‘he’s carried
that burden of guilt long enough.
‘He has repented.
‘He can’t change the past,
but look at his acts of repentance.
He’s now a different person.’
Knowing Jehovah and realizing he knows us
helps us to be confident before him
“regarding whatever our hearts
may condemn us in,
“because God is greater than our hearts
and knows all things.”
Isn’t that comforting?
Jehovah knows our figurative heart,
the total inner person.
He sees our mistakes,
but he also sees our motives, our feelings,
our desire to do what’s right, our potential.
He sees all the circumstances
that influence our actions,
including our genetic code
and the imperfections we’ve inherited.
Regarding Jehovah’s mercy,
Insight, under “Mercy,” states:
“Obviously,
“mankind’s basic and greatest disability
“comes from sin,
“inherited from their forefather Adam.
“Thus, all are in dire need,
“in a pitiable state.
“Jehovah God has acted mercifully . . .
“by providing the means for them to become
free from this great disability.”
So in a sense,
Jehovah sees us
as disabled people,
and this moves him to show us mercy.
Consider an example
of how Jehovah proved greater
than the heart of his servant.
Think about Peter.
On the worst night of his life,
Peter—not once, but three times—
disowned Jesus, denying even knowing him.
That night when the Lord turned
and looked upon Peter, their eyes met.
Do you think Peter
would ever forget that moment?
Is it also possible that later,
every time a rooster crowed,
Peter got flashbacks?
Did it trigger replaying in his mind
what he did that night,
hearing himself saying: “I do not know him”;
“I do not know him”?
Maybe.
We don’t know.
What we do know is how Jesus helped Peter
defeat feelings of excessive guilt.
The very day Jesus was resurrected,
he appeared to Peter privately,
evidently giving Peter a chance
to express his repentance.
We don’t know what Jesus told him,
but would Peter ever forget
that conversation?
Later, according to John chapter 21,
Jesus gave Peter the opportunity
to affirm his love for him
before his fellow disciples,
which he did three times.
And in front of the other apostles,
Jesus entrusted Peter with an assignment.
So Peter, instead of replaying in his mind:
‘I do not know him’; ‘I do not know him,’
now had a new memory,
a beautiful memory to replay in his mind.
Through his Son, Jesus Christ,
Jehovah showed Peter that He was greater
than his imperfect heart.
In conclusion, what have we learned?
A good conscience is not permissive
but neither is it overly critical.
We must learn to view ourselves
as Jehovah views us
and trust that he appreciates
all of our efforts to serve him
and does not judge us harshly.
Yes, it’s true
that God is greater than our hearts.
Let’s fully embrace Jehovah’s love
and the wonderful way
in which he helps us to do his will
with confidence and joy.
Let’s see how our brothers and sisters
have learned this lesson
and managed their feelings of low self-worth.
It’s not easy to deal with something
that you can’t just make go away
and that you can’t see;
you just feel it.
We had a really fun life together.
We had two kids.
My husband was an elder;
I served as a pioneer.
And then one day he just very suddenly,
very unexpectedly, passed away.
Within minutes, I was suddenly a widow.
And I hated that word.
It felt weak.
I didn’t know who I was anymore.
I felt very worthless.
I felt very lost.
As a child, the father figure in my life
didn’t carry out the assignment
of nurturing me.
Growing up with feeling like there’s
a finger in your chest
telling you you’re not good enough
—feeling incompetent, incapable—
those feelings carried on into my adulthood,
and I still deal with those things.
I was 22 when I found out that I had OCD.
It’s called the doubting disease.
It makes you doubt everything.
Your mind is constantly obsessed
with thoughts all day long,
feeling that you have done something wrong.
It can make you call the police on yourself.
It gets pretty miserable
because there never is an end
to the doubting.
Overcoming negative thoughts
is kind of a constant.
It’s by no means a challenge
that I’ve conquered.
I wanted to be able to tell people:
“Oh, I’m doing great.
I’m doing OK.”
But I wasn’t.
It could be crippling.
It could be crippling if it weren’t
for Jehovah and his people.
I have a friend who also has OCD.
When I found out that we both
were going through the same stuff,
the same thoughts, the same obsessions
and fears, oh, man, that helped.
I felt that Jehovah
sent that brother into my life.
Being able to text a friend and say,
“I’m—I’m sad today.”
They’ll say, “What do you need?”
I’ll say: “I don’t know.
I just need to complain that I’m sad.”
“OK, I’m here.
I’m listening to you.”
There’ve been times
when preparing for an assignment,
I don’t always feel that I’m the best person,
the most qualified person, for it,
and I’m probably not.
But I know Jehovah is seeing that I’m trying.
I do feel strongly
that like Revelation 4:11 says,
he is “worthy” of whatever I can give him,
of “the glory and the honor and the power.”
Anything I have to give him,
he’s worthy of it,
and I know he appreciates it.
And I know he’s happy with anybody
who’s trying their best,
even if they feel like dirt.
And you’ve got to be at the Kingdom Hall
and worship with your friends,
even if you know you’re going to cry
through the meeting or cry through the songs.
It’s OK.
It’s OK.
It’s OK to be that person for a little while.
It pays off; it really does.
It will bond you to your congregation
and to Jehovah.
Seeing myself as Jehovah does
is an everyday task.
Prayer has helped a lot.
Just knowing that Jehovah knows
I have OCD helps me a lot.
Sometimes panic will hit me,
but I pray all the time,
asking him to help me
to just kind of recollect my thoughts.
And then the other thing that has helped me
is the way that Jehovah has answered prayers.
Whew!
That’s what gets me the most emotional.
Because when you say a prayer
and you’re desperately in need of something
and you don’t even tell anyone what it is
and suddenly Jehovah provides it,
it’s unmistakable.
Jehovah is on the same team with me.
View Jehovah as a Father,
just like Jesus did.
In John 17, he pleads with Jehovah
when he’s about to be executed.
And the closeness
that you can witness in John 17
between Jehovah and Jesus Christ,
that’s the relationship
that I needed with Jehovah.
Reading all of the different accounts
on Jehovah’s viewpoint
of widows really helped me.
In time, I realized
that Jehovah’s view of widows
is completely different than
the world’s view of widows.
Jehovah set up rules in Israel
for how to treat widows.
What that all says to me
is that Jehovah has got me.
The word “widow” wasn’t ugly to me anymore.
Now I realized
I’m in a special—I’m in a special place
in Jehovah’s arms.
Jehovah values you more
than you could possibly even value yourself.
He’s a source of positive affirmation,
that love that just makes a person whole.
Jehovah’s thoughts are far higher than ours.
He knows every feeling, every anxiety,
every pain, and every joy that you have.
Know that Jehovah loves you.
Jehovah will provide comfort
through prayer and from friends who love you.
As Sister Wood said: “[You are]
in a special place in Jehovah’s arms.”
More powerful lessons from her experience
can be found in an extended interview
available later this month.
When we experience kindness,
we naturally want to express it to others.
In the latest episode
of “Iron Sharpens Iron,”
we’ll see how to imitate Jehovah’s kindness.
Hi, I’m Jonathan,
and this is “Iron Sharpens Iron.”
The quality we’re going to talk about today
is one of the things that drew
sinners, sick people, and children
to Jesus
—kindness.
Like Jehovah,
Jesus was kind to the good and the wicked.
His kindness wasn’t dependent
on whether people were first kind to him
or even liked him.
Instead, Jesus always showed kindness
because he understood
how the quality impacted people
and brought praise to Jehovah.
What about us, though?
Whom can we show kindness to and when?
Excuse me, visiting times are over.
You all need to leave.
Oh, I’m so sorry.
I thought we had a bit more time.
We still have five minutes.
It’s OK, Emily.
Tori, we’d better go,
but we’ll be back soon.
That was mature of our sister
to calmly leave with her group
even though
she did have a few more minutes.
But could she have done more?
This brings us to our first step
to being kind
—empathize.
Ask yourself,
‘What might the person I’m speaking to
be dealing with or need?’
Then show that you care by really listening.
You guys, just go.
I’m just going to—
Hi.
Hi.
I just wanted to say thank you
for taking such good care of my friend.
You’re welcome.
Sorry I was so direct earlier.
It’s just that we’re short-staffed
and under a lot of pressure.
Isn’t it amazing
what a simple thank you can accomplish?
The nurse must have needed that.
When a person shares their feelings with us,
we want to speak
warmly and respectfully.
That’s our second tip.
When we feel genuine compassion,
it comes through in the way we speak.
We need to choose
our words and tone of voice carefully
and avoid saying anything
that might offend someone.
It’s just that we’re short-staffed
and under a lot of pressure.
There’s no need to apologize.
I’m sure being a nurse is rewarding
but has its hard days.
Today is one of those days.
Well, at least you have a nice cup of tea.
Had—I spilled it
and haven’t had time to get another.
Well, you’ve really had a tough day,
haven’t you?
My name is Mandy.
Mary.
Nice to meet you.
I’ll let you get back to work.
Didn’t she do well?
She brightened someone’s day.
But now that she knows the nurse,
could she help her?
This is our third step.
Being kind involves
more than thoughts and speech.
It involves action.
So we want to look for opportunities
to help people.
Will this require time,
energy, and sacrifice?
Likely.
But it will be worth it.
Here.
You deserve this.
Oh, you didn’t have to get me tea.
I know, but I wanted to.
Thank you so much.
Can I ask you a question?
Mm-hm.
Who’s that lady you visited?
I see so many people visit her.
She’s a really close friend of ours
—family, really.
We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Ah, your people are always so kind.
Thank you.
I feel like—
Tori, she’s such a good friend to me.
Our motive for being kind
should always be genuine,
so there may be times we show kindness
without transitioning to a witness.
However, people are more willing
to listen to our message
when they sense we care about them.
So in review,
the three steps to show kindness are:
(1) Empathize with the person;
think about what their needs
and concerns might be.
If they express their feelings, just listen.
(2) Speak warmly and respectfully.
People can sense genuine compassion
through our tone of voice and words.
(3) Be helpful.
Look for ways to assist people;
it might just open the door
to giving a witness.
But remember,
more than any other method or tip,
like Jesus, just love people
because, as the Scriptures say:
“Love is . . . kind.”
Unselfish consideration for others
comes from a heart
that’s been molded by God’s Word.
Let’s learn how to break down a Bible verse
and meditate on each piece
as we dig for treasures in the book of Micah.
So the book of Micah, what did you think?
Well, other than Micah 6:8
being Mom’s favorite scripture,
I didn’t know much about how the book fits
into the overall theme of the Bible.
Yeah, I agree.
So how did you approach studying it?
Well, the first thing I had to do
was dig into the context
so that I could piece it all together.
Yeah, that’s a great study tip.
Context is vital.
How did you find it?
I started by looking
through the cross-references.
That led me to 2 Chronicles chapters 27-29.
And that put me right in the time period
in which Micah prophesied.
Micah served during the reign
of three kings:
Jotham,
Ahaz,
and Hezekiah.
And Ahaz’s rule
was not a great time for Judah.
Oh, not at all.
He was terrible!
He even sacrificed his kids.
I mean, the people weren’t much better.
The Bible tells us that even under the rule
of a good king, like Jotham,
“the people were still acting ruinously.”
Yeah.
And Micah’s job was to call all that out.
He had to prophesy
that Samaria and Jerusalem
would suffer destruction.
But with Jehovah, there’s always hope.
Oh, for sure!
Jehovah is super patient,
but there’s a limit, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Because he is just
and wants to protect innocent people,
he had to take serious action
and discipline Israel.
But even then,
he didn’t give up on them.
The restoration prophecies
in the book of Micah
show how much Jehovah wants
to make things right.
So true!
OK, here’s Micah faithfully proclaiming
this strong message from Jehovah,
and it’s similar
to the message that Isaiah gave.
For example,
I noticed Micah 4:1-3
is basically word for word
what it is at Isaiah 2:2-4.
Pretty cool, right?
I love that!
And I like how you compared
and contrasted the accounts.
I need to do that
with other books of the Bible too.
And Isaiah started prophesying first.
OK, so both of these men
faithfully followed Jehovah’s direction
even when it may have seemed,
for lack of a better word, repetitive.
So do you think the people
might have been thinking,
‘Micah,
didn’t we just hear this from Isaiah?’
Yeah.
And Micah might have reasoned,
“Jehovah must really love these people
and wants them to understand this.”
So I’m making it a point
to try to be more like Micah,
sticking to the message we’re given
even if it seems repetitive.
OK, how about you?
What stood out to you?
A verse that caught my attention was,
well, I think you just need to read it.
Micah 3:5:
“The prophets . . . who proclaim ‘Peace!’
“while they bite with their teeth
“but who declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.”
Uh, OK?
Kind of strange, right?
Yeah.
But I love these more complex verses
when I’m doing my Bible reading
because it forces me to slow down
and really think about it.
When verses don’t have many references
or I don’t understand them completely,
I’ll try to take them piece by piece,
asking myself,
‘What is really being said here?’
Ooh, I love that!
Let me note that down:
“Slow down; take it piece by piece.”
OK, the first piece:
Jehovah is calling out these false prophets
“who proclaim ‘Peace!’
while they bite with their teeth.”
At first that sounded
like they were being two-faced,
proclaiming peace then biting.
But then I saw this footnote
that says “while they bite”
could also be rendered
“when they have something to chew.”
OK, I like how you’re breaking this down.
So when the people fed the prophets,
they were all about peace?
Yes!
When the people gave them something good,
like food,
the prophets gave good news.
But the minute
the people put nothing into their mouths,
those same prophets were declaring war.
So it’s a lot like
that selfish “what’s-in-it-for-me?” attitude
that’s still common today.
This verse makes me think
how much Jehovah cares about my motives
and how I treat others.
Nothing escapes his notice.
It made me ask:
‘Do I do things for others
‘because I genuinely care
‘or because I’m hoping
for something in return?
‘And when it comes to my ministry,
instead of being self-serving,
‘am I willing to give my time and energy
‘to do things like learn a new language
or preach at times
when I’m more likely to find people?’
Those false prophets wouldn’t do any of that!
They didn’t appreciate the privilege
and responsibility of serving Jehovah.
And Jehovah held them accountable.
That’s both comforting and sobering.
It showed Jehovah’s deep care for his people
and his perfect justice.
Yeah.
Which brings us right back
to Mom’s favorite scripture,
Micah 6:8:
“He has told you, O man, what is good.
“And what is Jehovah requiring of you?
“Only to exercise justice,
to cherish loyalty,
and to walk in modesty with your God!”
I love this scripture!
It’s Jehovah telling me:
‘Don’t overthink it.
This is how you live a meaningful life.’
Yeah, and I really like that.
It ties back
to everything we’ve talked about.
Jehovah sent Micah
to call out the corruption and selfishness
because people weren’t exercising justice.
Micah stayed faithful
because he cherished loyalty to Jehovah.
And he didn’t need
a big platform or recognition;
he walked modestly with his God.
Wow!
With a little bit of digging,
there are so many great lessons
that can be found
in the book of Micah.
So true!
And we were able to find these
just by considering the context,
comparing and contrasting accounts,
and by slowing down
to take verses piece by piece.
This has been so much fun!
Do you have time
to dig into a couple more verses?
Absolutely.
Let’s keep digging for treasures
in the book of Micah.
Meditation unlocks practical lessons
from our Bible reading.
What gems from Micah will you uncover?
In the following morning worship,
Brother Malenfant discusses how we benefit
from meditating on Jehovah’s love.
The Memorial of Jesus’ death
is a powerful reminder of the love
that Jehovah and Jesus have for us.
And their love calls for a response from us.
We have to react to the love
that we’ve received from Jehovah and Jesus
because we want to show our appreciation
for the provision He made
of the ransom sacrifice.
And the wording of 2 Corinthians 5:14
is interesting and very helpful,
if you’d like to turn there
on your phone or your tablet,
2 Corinthians 5:14, 15.
And this is how it reads:
“For the love the Christ has compels us,
“because this is what we have concluded,
“that one man died for all;
“so, then, all had died.
“And he died for all
“so that those who live
should live no longer for themselves,
but for him who died for them
and was raised up.”
Isn’t that interesting,
the way the first part of the text reads?
It says
that “the love the Christ has compels us”
to no longer live just for ourselves.
That expression “compels us”
does not mean that we are forced
to no longer live for ourselves
or that doing Jehovah’s will
is just an obligation that we have.
No, it goes way beyond that.
The Cambridge English Dictionary
shows that “compel” can mean,
among other things,
“to produce a strong feeling or reaction”
in a person.
Well, isn’t that precisely what
the sacrifice of Jesus produces in us?
We have strong feelings of appreciation
about what he did,
and our reaction to what he did is
we want to live the rest of our life
for the doing of God’s will.
That’s our reaction
to Jehovah’s wonderful arrangement.
This is how the apostle Paul
felt about the matter,
and he doesn’t hold back
in expressing his deep feelings
about Jesus’ sacrifice
and the effect that the sacrifice of Christ
had on him.
Turn in your Bible with me
to Galatians chapter 2,
Galatians chapter 2,
and we’ll read verse 20.
It states—
And this is the way
Paul expressed himself
about what Jesus did for him.
He said:
“I am nailed to the stake along with Christ.
“It is no longer I who live,
“but it is Christ who is living
in union with me.
“Indeed,
the life that I now live in the flesh
“I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and handed himself over for me.”
Isn’t that beautiful,
the way Paul felt about it?
He took Jesus’ sacrifice
as a personal thing for him,
and it truly is for each one of us.
It’s a very personal thing that Jesus did,
dying for everyone,
taking our place in death.
Another point to keep in mind
is that Jesus’ sacrifice
is the strongest evidence
of Jehovah God’s generosity,
which is another beautiful thought.
So we “live by faith in the Son of God.”
And Jehovah God, we know,
he’s the greatest Giver in the universe.
We have received
the most wonderful gift from him.
And there’s a very interesting way
this is described,
this wonderful gift we’ve received.
It’s at 2 Corinthians 9:15.
It says:
“Thanks be to God
for his indescribable free gift.”
That’s a remarkable statement,
“indescribable free gift.”
So the ransom is so marvelous
that we are incapable of fully describing it
and all of the benefits that come from it,
all that it accomplished.
This is how The Watchtower,
the public edition of 2017,
issue No. 2, on page 6
speaks of the ransom.
And I found this statement to be beautiful.
It says:
“No gift has ever been given
by a higher source
“or motivated by greater love
“than was the sacrifice of Jesus.
“No one has ever given up as much for us
“as Jehovah God has.
“And no gift fills a greater need
than the one sacrifice
“that frees us from sin and death.
“Yes, no gift can even approach
the indescribable worth of the ransom.”
What a lovely declaration
and statement that is!
The ransom embodies not just our salvation,
but there are many other blessings
that are connected
to that ransom sacrifice that Jesus provided.
For example,
the curing of all our sicknesses,
the transformation of this planet
into a beautiful paradise
(that’s all part of it too),
and then, of course,
the most wonderful hope we have,
the resurrection of the dead.
It truly, what Jesus did,
it was an “indescribable free gift.”
Let’s now see how the apostle Peter
speaks of our reaction to the free gift,
or the things that we should do
because we love it and we accept it.
Take your Bible and turn to 1 Peter,
1 Peter chapter 1,
and we’ll read verses 8 and 9.
Peter wrote—
And this is remarkable,
the way he explains this matter.
He said:
“Though you never saw him
“[and it’s true;
we have never seen him, Jesus],
“you love him.
“Though you do not see him now,
“yet you exercise faith in him
“and are greatly rejoicing
“with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith,
your salvation.”
Well, it’s true,
it’s an indescribable joy that we do have
when we stop, just for a moment,
and think and meditate
on all that Jehovah has done for us
and the promises he’s made
about the future and how life is going to be
and the provisions we have even right now
with the power of his holy spirit helping us
to serve him, to honor him,
and to enjoy our portion under the sun.
It’s really quite wonderful!
And it’s not unusual
for us to experience intense feelings
of joy of heart and peace of mind
when we slow down
and just meditate and think
about the good things God has done for us
and that he’s going to do.
Jehovah’s spirit fills us
with indescribable joy, gratitude,
and trust in our great God.
And that’s what Romans 15:13 states,
Romans 15:13:
“May the God who gives hope
“fill you with all joy and peace
“by your trusting in him,
“so that you may abound in hope
with power of holy spirit.”
What a wonderful blessing!
So the many wonderful things
that Jehovah and Jesus have done for us
make us want to respond
and do whatever we can
to honor and glorify His great name
and to live for doing the will of God.
And the way we feel is described in Psalms.
If you’d like to read the psalm with me,
it’s Psalm 116:12, 14,
Psalm 116:12, 14.
This is what it says.
Psalm 116:12 says:
“With what will I repay Jehovah
for all the good he has done for me?”
And, then, if you scroll down to 14,
what does it say?
And this is our part now, our role:
“I will pay my vows to Jehovah
“[we’ve made a dedication to God,
haven’t we?]
in the presence of all his people.”
So our response to that question,
What will I repay to Jehovah?
We give it.
There’s no better purpose for living
than to honor the Christ and do God’s will,
because that is the entire will of God for us
and what we want to do to bring honor to Him.
‘What will I repay to Jehovah?’
Claude and Sandra Sauvageau
continually ask themselves this question.
Let’s see how their answers
have led to a lifetime of blessings.
My parents had a lot of influence on me
liking the preaching work.
My dad, after his work
once or twice a week,
would come home, change,
and take me preaching with him.
I took the truth because my mom, Rita,
took the truth.
She was putting some books
around the house,
and I started to read them.
And I was telling myself: ‘Wow!
‘This is the life.
‘This is awesome!
I want to do that.’
We were newlyweds.
We had no obligations
and personally, well,
we felt we could do more.
And our desire to serve more
moved us to fill out
an application for Gilead.
And so we went
to the Central African Republic
and learned a new language.
We had waiting lists of Bible studies.
It was just extraordinary!
And then I became sick,
and there was no solution,
so I was told by the doctor
I needed to come back.
Spiritually, it was difficult.
I have to say it was extremely difficult
because our goal was crushed,
and we didn’t know exactly what to do.
At one of the very first circuit assemblies
that we went to after we were back,
there was a circuit overseer.
He was the invited guest for that assembly.
And he had known me
since I was a little girl.
I guess he saw how I felt,
and he came and talked to me.
He told me: “You have training.
“Use your training.
“Keep on using it.
“Don’t look back
at what you cannot do anymore.
Just look ahead and see what you can do.”
And that changed my life.
Slowly as my health got better,
we could do more
and we started pioneering again.
And after that,
something happened with my work.
So we moved here to the U.S.
And at that point, we had three choices:
English, French, or Spanish.
The Spanish congregation
had just been formed a few months before.
So Sandra and I sat down and said:
“Why don’t we start back again
and do what we were trained to do?”
To learn a language
—Sandra has a gift for language.
She learned it in a few months.
Me, I was a donkey.
I had to learn it and work and work
and work to learn the language.
And now we’ve been
in this congregation for 25 years,
and we really enjoy it
because now we speak Spanish.
We try to anyway.
And the result
is really, really, really good.
It’s different when you get to this age.
You have, maybe,
more worries because of that.
But Jehovah has always helped us in the past,
and he wants what we can give,
not what we cannot give.
And still Jehovah opened the doors for us.
We decided to take it.
We were in our fifties.
We were working in construction with RBC,
and Warwick comes along.
And all these
brothers and sisters are signing up,
and they’re going to Warwick,
and they come back super happy.
But the ones that did go,
they were telling us
it was very hard physically.
So I thought, ‘Well, I need to train.’
But she forgot a detail.
She put the stepladder in the living room.
It was her working booth.
She was going up and down,
up and down, up and down
—for what? 15 minutes?—
just to be sure she got the rhythm.
It was a funny look to see the whole thing.
But, hey, she prepared herself for that.
And it was very good.
Both of us put together, we’ve been
serving Jehovah for over 100 years.
We have been able to share in LDC work,
in prison witnessing, in harbor witnessing.
And really, we see Jehovah
—how (the little bit you can give him)
he always outgives you.
He gives us a life that we can never regret.
We have that zeal, the enthusiasm.
We want to coach younger ones
to do the same thing,
you know, and that is the beauty of it.
We don’t retire.
We continue to serve Jehovah.
Serving Jehovah: This is the best thing
you can ever do in life.
So why stop?
Just continue to do it.
The Sauvageaus
never lost their hunger
to give back to Jehovah.
Fittingly, this month’s music video
is a heartfelt thank you to Jehovah
for his generosity.
Golden sunset on a glist’ning bay,
Watching the palm trees gently sway,
A hint of smoke from a cozy fire—
Your goodness makes me feel inspired.
Days like this truly build my faith
And make me stop to appreciate
All of the wonderful things you’ve done
And how you freely share them with ev’ryone.
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
You give me good things in an overflow,
Like pearls of wisdom that help me grow.
Your words of truth keep refreshing me,
Like waves that roll in endlessly.
’Cause you provide me with life’s water free,
I want to share it with all those I meet,
Spreading good news from shore to shore
And knocking on every single door, just like
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
We can’t help but feel close
to a God who gives so much.
He gives us his written Word,
packed with valuable lessons.
He gives us opportunities
to assist others
with compassion and kindness.
And he gives us reminders
of our true value.
Now we’re excited to share a special treat
—your invitation
to the 2026 “Eternal Happiness”
Regional Convention!
Happiness
—many believe it comes from experiencing
the good things in life.
But what happens when life
takes an unexpected turn?
Is it possible to find lasting happiness?
Nearly 2,000 years ago,
Jesus taught that true happiness
comes from a meaningful relationship
with our Creator.
“Happy are those conscious
of their spiritual need.
“Happy are the mild-tempered.
“Happy are the merciful.
“Happy are the pure in heart.
Happy are the peacemakers.”
Those teachings have great value today.
Join us at the 2026 “Eternal Happiness”
Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses
to discover how.
Through Bible-based discourses,
interviews, and videos,
see how Jesus’ teachings
are helping people today
find true happiness.
Conventions are being held worldwide,
and admission is free.
Find a location near you at jw.org.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Please share the invitation
to this heartwarming convention
with neighbors and family.
We’re also happy to release
the convention song
for 2026.
It’s entitled “Happy Are These Eyes.”
The song and lyrics
are now available for download
in JW Library® and on jw.org.
We encourage you
to practice this song at home
so that you’ll be prepared
to sing it out from the heart
at the convention.
Also, if the words
are available in your language,
“Happy Are These Eyes” will be sung
at the conclusion of the midweek meeting
during the week of April 20, 2026.
Our postcard this month
comes from an island that is year after year
the most visited in the Caribbean
—the Dominican Republic.
It’s where you’ll find
the highest mountain peak in the Caribbean
and the highly prized blue amber.
A hike through its mountains and waterfalls
might give you a glimpse of animals
that are found in few other places:
the rhinoceros iguana;
the Hispaniolan solenodon, or agouta;
and the conspicuously noisy palmchat bird.
Dominican people are known for their warm,
lively spirit and are quick
to make you feel at home.
For large gatherings, they might prepare
sancocho, a hearty stew
that’s a crowd favorite.
The Dominican Republic
is the birthplace of merengue,
a style of music and dance
that’s integral to daily life.
The Dominican flag is the only national flag
that displays an image of a Bible.
It’s open to the words at John 8:32:
“The truth will set you free.”
True to Jesus’ words,
thousands there have learned Bible truth
and have been set free from nationalism
and religious falsehood.
The preaching work began in April 1945
with the arrival of missionaries
Lennart and Virginia Johnson.
They got to work and started Bible studies
the same day they arrived.
Later, more missionaries arrived,
and many people started attending meetings
in their missionary home.
Just three years later,
about 110 publishers
were preaching the good news.
This growth did not go unnoticed.
Under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo,
our brothers suffered intense persecution.
Trujillo solidified his power
with support from the Vatican.
All churches on the island
were required to post a sign that read
“God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth.”
But our brothers did not compromise.
The government banned our activities in 1950
and again in 1957.
During this time, our brothers and sisters
showed remarkable perseverance,
preaching discreetly
and printing publications in secret,
as seen in this reenactment.
Despite the ban, Jehovah’s people
in the Dominican Republic
enjoyed remarkable increases.
The second ban was lifted in 1960.
Today, there are more than
38,000 publishers conducting
over 45,000 Bible studies each month!
In addition to Spanish,
meetings are held in Haitian Creole, ASL,
English, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian.
Nestled in the mountains
about 150 kilometers, or 90 miles,
from the capital
is the small town of Constanza.
We’ll end our postcard by viewing
the Los Laureles Congregation.
It’s home to 134 publishers,
36 of whom serve as regular pioneers.
These brothers and sisters conduct
on average
more than 170 Bible studies every month!
Their territory is a joy to preach in,
not just for its beautiful mountain views,
but for the many honesthearted people
who wish to learn about Jehovah.
Your brothers and sisters
in the Los Laureles–Constanza Congregation
send you their warmest love
and Christian greetings.
From the World Headquarters
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
this is JW Broadcasting.

JW Broadcasting—April 2026
- 

JW Broadcasting—April 2026

Welcome to JW Broadcasting®!
This month, we’ll learn how to embrace
Jehovah’s full and loving view of us,
we’ll dig deep into the book of Micah
for some valuable lessons
on honesty and modesty,
and we’ll see how even the smallest
acts of kindness
can have a lasting impact on others.
This is JW Broadcasting!
Dear friends,
have you ever felt like this sister 
who wrote in a letter:
“No matter how much I love Jehovah
“or how much effort I put forth to serve him,
I always feel that it is not good enough”?
Sadly,
at times our imperfect hearts can tell us
that no matter how hard we try,
we’re never good enough to please Jehovah.
Or even though you know Jehovah
is a forgiving God,
perhaps you still feel condemned for things
you’ve said or done in the past.
Mistakes or sinful things
that we’ve said or done in the distant past
can constantly be played back in our mind,
making us discouraged or depressed.
Likely, most of us have experienced
feelings like this from time to time.
Why can we say this?
Well, let’s consider
what Jehovah inspired
the apostle John to write
at 1 John 3:19, 20.
These verses are the basis
for this discussion with the theme
“God Is Greater Than Our Hearts.”
First John 3:19, 20 reads:
“By this we will know
“that we originate with the truth,
“and we will assure our hearts before him
“regarding whatever our hearts
may condemn us in,
“because God is greater than our hearts
and knows all things.”
Now, notice how John uses the plural form
“our hearts”:
“We will assure our hearts before him,”
and “our hearts may condemn us.”
So, yes, it was possible
even for the apostle John
to have negative feelings about himself.
But John gives us good reason to be confident
that Jehovah views us positively.
He says that we “know
that we originate with the truth.”
How did you become a Christian?
How did it start?
We heard and accepted 
the truth from God’s Word.
We accepted Jesus Christ
and the truths he taught.
We rejected the world and its falsehoods.
We’ve tried to imitate Christ,
loving our brothers
and avoiding deliberate sin.
So “we originate with the truth.”
It’s the truth that made you and me
what we are.
That fact alone helps us be confident
that Jehovah approves of us
as part of his family.
Nevertheless,
occasionally our hearts may condemn us.
Why and how can that happen?
It involves our conscience.
Most often when God’s Word
mentions our heart,
it’s speaking figuratively
of what we are inside,
our total personality. 
<i>The Watchtower</i>  of August 1, 1997, stated:
“The Bible also links the conscience
“with the figurative heart,
which involves our feelings and emotions.”
Romans 2:15 is cited,
where Paul explains
how the conscience functions
even in persons not under the Mosaic Law.
Let’s read that.
Romans 2:15 says:
“They are the very ones
who demonstrate the matter of the law
“to be written in their hearts,
“while their conscience
is bearing witness with them,
“and by their own thoughts
they are being accused
or even excused.”
So our God-given conscience
can accuse or excuse us.
It can warn us not to take a wrong course.
Our conscience also comes into play
after we have done something wrong.
When David was running from King Saul,
he cut off a piece
of King Saul’s outer garment
when he was in a cave.
First Samuel 24:5 says
that “afterward David’s heart
kept striking him.”
The alternate rendering for “heart”
is “conscience.”
David’s conscience told him
he did something disrespectful toward Saul,
the appointed king.
Therefore, our conscience enables us
to look at ourselves and render judgment.
A guilty conscience can move us to repent
and to correct our course of action.
On the other hand,
if our conscience is overly critical,
there’s the danger of becoming
overwhelmed by guilt
and becoming convinced
that Jehovah will not forgive us,
no matter how repentant we are.
Or an overly critical conscience and heart
may tell us that we must be perfect
in order to please God.
As Paul explained at Romans 2:15,
our conscience acts as a judge
as to our guilt or innocence.
To illustrate,
imagine ourselves on trial in a court.
The judge, representing our conscience,
listens to all the facts
and evidence about us
that are presented by the witnesses
—our thoughts.
Now, a good judge will listen
to witnesses on both sides
to make a fair and right judgment.
However, what if the judge only listens
to witnesses for the prosecution
who accuse us?
Those accusing thoughts
call for strict justice and punishment.
In effect, they say to the judge:
‘He should never forget what he has done.
‘He should have known better.
‘He is weak and has wrong desires.
He deserves to go to prison for a long time.’
So this judge, having heard
only the accusing witnesses
and no witnesses for your defense,
hands down the judgment:
‘Guilty as charged!
You are sentenced to prison.’
Similarly, our conscience,
if not properly educated,
can be like that unfair judge
who sentences us
to a figurative prison of guilty feelings,
trapping us in a cycle of negative emotions
and preventing us from moving forward.
What kind of judge is your conscience?
Remember, a well-informed conscience
can also excuse us
if an overly critical thought arises.
So, then,
for our conscience to judge us properly,
we need to train it to
not only know Jehovah’s laws
but to know our Lawgiver, our ultimate Judge.
Notice this quote
from the September 1, 1976,
<i>Watchtower</i>  article
“Training Our Conscience to Do More for Us”:
“Thus God’s personality,
“revealed in his Word
and in his dealings with his servants,
“is brought to the fore as the focal point
around which a good conscience
is to be developed.”
That’s the key.
The Bible teaches us
that Jehovah loves justice
but is reasonable in how he applies his law.
He’s full of mercy and loyal love
—he’s the very personification of love.
Knowing Jehovah’s qualities
should instruct our conscience
to judge ourselves in a balanced way
—not to be permissive,
justifying wrong conduct,
but at the same time
not judging ourselves unfairly or harshly.
So to continue the illustration,
the good judge who knows Jehovah
will also hear the witnesses for our defense.
These thoughts might testify:
‘Wait, judge,
this person is more than his past mistakes.
‘It’s time to forgive
and blot them from the record.
‘He’s paid the price;
‘he’s carried
that burden of guilt long enough.
‘He has repented.
‘He can’t change the past,
but look at his acts of repentance.
He’s now a different person.’
Knowing Jehovah and realizing he knows us
helps us to be confident before him
“regarding whatever our hearts
may condemn us in,
“because God is greater than our hearts
and knows all things.”
Isn’t that comforting?
Jehovah knows our figurative heart,
the total inner person.
He sees our mistakes,
but he also sees our motives, our feelings, 
our desire to do what’s right, our potential.
He sees all the circumstances
that influence our actions,
including our genetic code
and the imperfections we’ve inherited.
Regarding Jehovah’s mercy,
<i>Insight,</i> under “Mercy,” states:
“Obviously,
“mankind’s basic and greatest disability
“comes from sin,
“inherited from their forefather Adam.
“Thus, all are in dire need,
“in a pitiable state.
“Jehovah God has acted mercifully . . .
“by providing the means for them to become
free from this great disability.”
So in a sense,
Jehovah sees us
as disabled people,
and this moves him to show us mercy.
Consider an example
of how Jehovah proved greater
than the heart of his servant.
Think about Peter.
On the worst night of his life,
Peter—not once, but three times—
disowned Jesus, denying even knowing him.
That night when the Lord turned
and looked upon Peter, their eyes met.
Do you think Peter
would ever forget that moment?
Is it also possible that later,
every time a rooster crowed,
Peter got flashbacks?
Did it trigger replaying in his mind
what he did that night,
hearing himself saying: “I do not know him”;
“I do not know him”?
Maybe.
We don’t know.
What we do know is how Jesus helped Peter
defeat feelings of excessive guilt.
The very day Jesus was resurrected,
he appeared to Peter privately,
evidently giving Peter a chance
to express his repentance.
We don’t know what Jesus told him,
but would Peter ever forget
that conversation?
Later, according to John chapter 21,
Jesus gave Peter the opportunity
to affirm his love for him
before his fellow disciples,
which he did three times.
And in front of the other apostles,
Jesus entrusted Peter with an assignment.
So Peter, instead of replaying in his mind:
‘I do not know him’; ‘I do not know him,’
now had a new memory,
a beautiful memory to replay in his mind.
Through his Son, Jesus Christ,
Jehovah showed Peter that He was greater
than his imperfect heart.
In conclusion, what have we learned?
A good conscience is not permissive
but neither is it overly critical.
We must learn to view ourselves
as Jehovah views us
and trust that he appreciates
all of our efforts to serve him
and does not judge us harshly.
Yes, it’s true
that God is greater than our hearts.
Let’s fully embrace Jehovah’s love
and the wonderful way
in which he helps us to do his will
with confidence and joy.
Let’s see how our brothers and sisters
have learned this lesson
and managed their feelings of low self-worth.
It’s not easy to deal with something
that you can’t just make go away
and that you can’t see;
you just feel it.
We had a really fun life together.
We had two kids.
My husband was an elder;
I served as a pioneer.
And then one day he just very suddenly,
very unexpectedly, passed away.
Within minutes, I was suddenly a widow.
And I hated that word.
It felt weak.
I didn’t know who I was anymore.
I felt very worthless.
I felt very lost.
As a child, the father figure in my life
didn’t carry out the assignment
of nurturing me.
Growing up with feeling like there’s
a finger in your chest
telling you you’re not good enough
—feeling incompetent, incapable—
those feelings carried on into my adulthood,
and I still deal with those things.
I was 22 when I found out that I had OCD.
It’s called the doubting disease.
It makes you doubt everything.
Your mind is constantly obsessed
with thoughts all day long,
feeling that you have done something wrong.
It can make you call the police on yourself.
It gets pretty miserable
because there never is an end
to the doubting.
Overcoming negative thoughts
is kind of a constant.
It’s by no means a challenge
that I’ve conquered.
I wanted to be able to tell people:
“Oh, I’m doing great.
I’m doing OK.”
But I wasn’t.
It could be crippling.
It could be crippling if it weren’t
for Jehovah and his people.
I have a friend who also has OCD.
When I found out that we both
were going through the same stuff,
the same thoughts, the same obsessions
and fears, oh, man, that helped.
I felt that Jehovah
sent that brother into my life.
Being able to text a friend and say,
“I’m—I’m sad today.”
They’ll say, “What do you need?”
I’ll say: “I don’t know.
I just need to complain that I’m sad.”
“OK, I’m here.
I’m listening to you.”
There’ve been times
when preparing for an assignment,
I don’t always feel that I’m the best person,
the most qualified person, for it,
and I’m probably not.
But I know Jehovah is seeing that I’m trying.
I do feel strongly
that like Revelation 4:11 says,
he is “worthy” of whatever I can give him,
of “the glory and the honor and the power.”
Anything I have to give him,
he’s worthy of it,
and I know he appreciates it.
And I know he’s happy with anybody
who’s trying their best,
even if they feel like dirt.
And you’ve got to be at the Kingdom Hall
and worship with your friends,
even if you know you’re going to cry
through the meeting or cry through the songs.
It’s OK.
It’s OK.
It’s OK to be that person for a little while.
It pays off; it really does.
It will bond you to your congregation
and to Jehovah.
Seeing myself as Jehovah does
is an everyday task.
Prayer has helped a lot.
Just knowing that Jehovah knows
I have OCD helps me a lot.
Sometimes panic will hit me,
but I pray all the time,
asking him to help me
to just kind of recollect my thoughts.
And then the other thing that has helped me
is the way that Jehovah has answered prayers.
Whew!
That’s what gets me the most emotional.
Because when you say a prayer
and you’re desperately in need of something
and you don’t even tell anyone what it is
and suddenly Jehovah provides it,
it’s unmistakable.
Jehovah is on the same team with me.
View Jehovah as a Father,
just like Jesus did.
In John 17, he pleads with Jehovah
when he’s about to be executed.
And the closeness
that you can witness in John 17
between Jehovah and Jesus Christ,
that’s the relationship
that I needed with Jehovah.
Reading all of the different accounts
on Jehovah’s viewpoint
of widows really helped me.
In time, I realized
that Jehovah’s view of widows
is completely different than
the world’s view of widows.
Jehovah set up rules in Israel
for how to treat widows.
What that all says to me
is that Jehovah has got me.
The word “widow” wasn’t ugly to me anymore.
Now I realized
I’m in a special—I’m in a special place
in Jehovah’s arms.
Jehovah values you more
than you could possibly even value yourself.
He’s a source of positive affirmation,
that love that just makes a person whole.
Jehovah’s thoughts are far higher than ours.
He knows every feeling, every anxiety,
every pain, and every joy that you have.
Know that Jehovah loves you.
Jehovah will provide comfort
through prayer and from friends who love you.
As Sister Wood said: “[You are]
in a special place in Jehovah’s arms.”
More powerful lessons from her experience
can be found in an extended interview
available later this month.
When we experience kindness,
we naturally want to express it to others.
In the latest episode
of <i>“Iron Sharpens Iron,”</i>
we’ll see how to imitate Jehovah’s kindness.
Hi, I’m Jonathan,
and this is “Iron Sharpens Iron.”
The quality we’re going to talk about today
is one of the things that drew
sinners, sick people, and children
to Jesus
—kindness.
Like Jehovah,
Jesus was kind to the good and the wicked.
His kindness wasn’t dependent
on whether people were first kind to him
or even liked him.
Instead, Jesus always showed kindness
because he understood
how the quality impacted people
and brought praise to Jehovah.
What about us, though?
Whom can we show kindness to and when?
Excuse me, visiting times are over.
You all need to leave.
Oh, I’m so sorry.
I thought we had a bit more time.
We still have five minutes.
It’s OK, Emily.
Tori, we’d better go,
but we’ll be back soon.
That was mature of our sister
to calmly leave with her group
even though
she did have a few more minutes.
But could she have done more?
This brings us to our first step
to being kind
—empathize.
Ask yourself,
‘What might the person I’m speaking to
be dealing with or need?’
Then show that you care by really listening.
You guys, just go.
I’m just going to—
Hi.
Hi.
I just wanted to say thank you
for taking such good care of my friend.
You’re welcome.
Sorry I was so direct earlier.
It’s just that we’re short-staffed
and under a lot of pressure.
Isn’t it amazing
what a simple thank you can accomplish?
The nurse must have needed that.
When a person shares their feelings with us,
we want to speak
warmly and respectfully.
That’s our second tip.
When we feel genuine compassion,
it comes through in the way we speak.
We need to choose
our words and tone of voice carefully
and avoid saying anything
that might offend someone.
It’s just that we’re short-staffed
and under a lot of pressure.
There’s no need to apologize.
I’m sure being a nurse is rewarding
but has its hard days.
Today is one of those days.
Well, at least you have a nice cup of tea.
Had—I spilled it
and haven’t had time to get another.
Well, you’ve really had a tough day,
haven’t you?
My name is Mandy.
Mary.
Nice to meet you.
I’ll let you get back to work.
Didn’t she do well?
She brightened someone’s day.
But now that she knows the nurse,
could she help her?
This is our third step.
Being kind involves
more than thoughts and speech.
It involves action.
So we want to look for opportunities
to help people.
Will this require time,
energy, and sacrifice?
Likely.
But it will be worth it.
Here.
You deserve this.
Oh, you didn’t have to get me tea.
I know, but I wanted to.
Thank you so much.
Can I ask you a question?
Mm-hm.
Who’s that lady you visited?
I see so many people visit her.
She’s a really close friend of ours
—family, really.
We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Ah, your people are always so kind.
Thank you.
I feel like— 
Tori, she’s such a good friend to me.
Our motive for being kind
should always be genuine,
so there may be times we show kindness
without transitioning to a witness.
However, people are more willing
to listen to our message
when they sense we care about them.
So in review,
the three steps to show kindness are:
(1) Empathize with the person;
think about what their needs
and concerns might be.
If they express their feelings, just listen.
(2) Speak warmly and respectfully.
People can sense genuine compassion
through our tone of voice and words.
(3) Be helpful.
Look for ways to assist people;
it might just open the door
to giving a witness.
But remember,
more than any other method or tip,
like Jesus, just love people
because, as the Scriptures say:
“Love is . . . kind.”
Unselfish consideration for others
comes from a heart
that’s been molded by God’s Word.
Let’s learn how to break down a Bible verse
and meditate on each piece
as we dig for treasures in the book of Micah.
So the book of Micah, what did you think?
Well, other than Micah 6:8
being Mom’s favorite scripture,
I didn’t know much about how the book fits
into the overall theme of the Bible.
Yeah, I agree.
So how did you approach studying it?
Well, the first thing I had to do
was dig into the context
so that I could piece it all together.
Yeah, that’s a great study tip.
Context is vital.
How did you find it?
I started by looking
through the cross-references.
That led me to 2 Chronicles chapters 27-29.
And that put me right in the time period
in which Micah prophesied.
Micah served during the reign
of three kings:
Jotham,
Ahaz,
and Hezekiah.
And Ahaz’s rule
was not a great time for Judah.
Oh, not at all.
He was terrible!
He even sacrificed his kids.
I mean, the people weren’t much better.
The Bible tells us that even under the rule
of a good king, like Jotham,
“the people were still acting ruinously.”
Yeah.
And Micah’s job was to call all that out.
He had to prophesy
that Samaria and Jerusalem
would suffer destruction.
But with Jehovah, there’s always hope.
Oh, for sure!
Jehovah is super patient,
but there’s a limit, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Because he is just
and wants to protect innocent people,
he had to take serious action
and discipline Israel.
But even then,
he didn’t give up on them.
The restoration prophecies
in the book of Micah
show how much Jehovah wants
to make things right.
So true!
OK, here’s Micah faithfully proclaiming
this strong message from Jehovah,
and it’s similar
to the message that Isaiah gave.
For example,
I noticed Micah 4:1-3
is basically word for word
what it is at Isaiah 2:2-4.
Pretty cool, right?
I love that!
And I like how you compared
and contrasted the accounts.
I need to do that
with other books of the Bible too.
And Isaiah started prophesying first.
OK, so both of these men
faithfully followed Jehovah’s direction
even when it may have seemed,
for lack of a better word, repetitive.
So do you think the people
might have been thinking,
‘Micah,
didn’t we just hear this from Isaiah?’
Yeah.
And Micah might have reasoned,
“Jehovah must really love these people
and wants them to understand this.”
So I’m making it a point
to try to be more like Micah,
sticking to the message we’re given
even if it seems repetitive.
OK, how about you?
What stood out to you?
A verse that caught my attention was,
well, I think you just need to read it.
Micah 3:5:
“The prophets . . . who proclaim ‘Peace!’
“while they bite with their teeth
“but who declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.”
Uh, OK?
Kind of strange, right?
Yeah.
But I love these more complex verses
when I’m doing my Bible reading
because it forces me to slow down
and really think about it.
When verses don’t have many references
or I don’t understand them completely,
I’ll try to take them piece by piece,
asking myself,
‘What is really being said here?’
Ooh, I love that!
Let me note that down:
“Slow down; take it piece by piece.”
OK, the first piece:
Jehovah is calling out these false prophets
“who proclaim ‘Peace!’
while they bite with their teeth.”
At first that sounded
like they were being two-faced,
proclaiming peace then biting.
But then I saw this footnote
that says “while they bite”
could also be rendered
“when they have something to chew.”
OK, I like how you’re breaking this down.
So when the people fed the prophets,
they were all about peace?
Yes!
When the people gave them something good,
like food,
the prophets gave good news.
But the minute
the people put nothing into their mouths,
those same prophets were declaring war.
So it’s a lot like
that selfish “what’s-in-it-for-me?” attitude
that’s still common today.
This verse makes me think
how much Jehovah cares about my motives
and how I treat others.
Nothing escapes his notice.
It made me ask:
‘Do I do things for others
‘because I genuinely care
‘or because I’m hoping
for something in return?
‘And when it comes to my ministry,
instead of being self-serving,
‘am I willing to give my time and energy
‘to do things like learn a new language
or preach at times
when I’m more likely to find people?’
Those false prophets wouldn’t do any of that!
They didn’t appreciate the privilege
and responsibility of serving Jehovah.
And Jehovah held them accountable.
That’s both comforting and sobering.
It showed Jehovah’s deep care for his people
and his perfect justice.
Yeah.
Which brings us right back
to Mom’s favorite scripture,
Micah 6:8:
“He has told you, O man, what is good.
“And what is Jehovah requiring of you?
“Only to exercise justice,
to cherish loyalty,
and to walk in modesty with your God!”
I love this scripture!
It’s Jehovah telling me:
‘Don’t overthink it.
This is how you live a meaningful life.’
Yeah, and I really like that.
It ties back
to everything we’ve talked about.
Jehovah sent Micah
to call out the corruption and selfishness
because people weren’t exercising justice.
Micah stayed faithful
because he cherished loyalty to Jehovah.
And he didn’t need
a big platform or recognition;
he walked modestly with his God.
Wow!
With a little bit of digging,
there are so many great lessons
that can be found
in the book of Micah.
So true!
And we were able to find these
just by considering the context,
comparing and contrasting accounts,
and by slowing down
to take verses piece by piece.
This has been so much fun!
Do you have time
to dig into a couple more verses?
Absolutely.
Let’s keep digging for treasures
in the book of Micah.
Meditation unlocks practical lessons
from our Bible reading.
What gems from Micah will you uncover?
In the following morning worship,
Brother Malenfant discusses how we benefit
from meditating on Jehovah’s love.
The Memorial of Jesus’ death
is a powerful reminder of the love
that Jehovah and Jesus have for us.
And their love calls for a response from us.
We have to react to the love
that we’ve received from Jehovah and Jesus
because we want to show our appreciation
for the provision He made
of the ransom sacrifice.
And the wording of 2 Corinthians 5:14
is interesting and very helpful,
if you’d like to turn there
on your phone or your tablet,
2 Corinthians 5:14, 15.
And this is how it reads:
“For the love the Christ has compels us,
“because this is what we have concluded,
“that one man died for all;
“so, then, all had died.
“And he died for all
“so that those who live
should live no longer for themselves,
but for him who died for them
and was raised up.”
Isn’t that interesting,
the way the first part of the text reads?
It says
that “the love the Christ has compels us”
to no longer live just for ourselves.
That expression “compels us”
does not mean that we are forced
to no longer live for ourselves
or that doing Jehovah’s will
is just an obligation that we have.
No, it goes way beyond that.
The <i>Cambridge English Dictionary</i> 
shows that “compel” can mean,
among other things,
“to produce a strong feeling or reaction”
in a person.
Well, isn’t that precisely what
the sacrifice of Jesus produces in us?
We have strong feelings of appreciation
about what he did,
and our reaction to what he did is
we want to live the rest of our life
for the doing of God’s will.
That’s our reaction
to Jehovah’s wonderful arrangement.
This is how the apostle Paul
felt about the matter,
and he doesn’t hold back
in expressing his deep feelings
about Jesus’ sacrifice
and the effect that the sacrifice of Christ
had on him.
Turn in your Bible with me
to Galatians chapter 2,
Galatians chapter 2,
and we’ll read verse 20.
It states— 
And this is the way
Paul expressed himself
about what Jesus did for him.
He said:
“I am nailed to the stake along with Christ.
“It is no longer I who live,
“but it is Christ who is living
in union with me.
“Indeed,
the life that I now live in the flesh
“I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and handed himself over for me.”
Isn’t that beautiful,
the way Paul felt about it?
He took Jesus’ sacrifice
as a personal thing for him,
and it truly is for each one of us.
It’s a very personal thing that Jesus did,
dying for everyone,
taking our place in death.
Another point to keep in mind
is that Jesus’ sacrifice
is the strongest evidence
of Jehovah God’s generosity,
which is another beautiful thought.
So we “live by faith in the Son of God.”
And Jehovah God, we know,
he’s the greatest Giver in the universe.
We have received
the most wonderful gift from him.
And there’s a very interesting way
this is described,
this wonderful gift we’ve received.
It’s at 2 Corinthians 9:15.
It says:
“Thanks be to God
for his indescribable free gift.”
That’s a remarkable statement,
“indescribable free gift.”
So the ransom is so marvelous
that we are incapable of fully describing it
and all of the benefits that come from it,
all that it accomplished.
This is how <i>The Watchtower,</i>
the public edition of 2017,
issue No. 2, on page 6
speaks of the ransom.
And I found this statement to be beautiful.
It says:
“No gift has ever been given
by a higher source
“or motivated by greater love
“than was the sacrifice of Jesus.
“No one has ever given up as much for us
“as Jehovah God has.
“And no gift fills a greater need
than the one sacrifice
“that frees us from sin and death.
“Yes, no gift can even approach
the indescribable worth of the ransom.”
What a lovely declaration
and statement that is!
The ransom embodies not just our salvation,
but there are many other blessings
that are connected
to that ransom sacrifice that Jesus provided.
For example,
the curing of all our sicknesses,
the transformation of this planet
into a beautiful paradise
(that’s all part of it too),
and then, of course,
the most wonderful hope we have,
the resurrection of the dead.
It truly, what Jesus did,
it was an “indescribable free gift.”
Let’s now see how the apostle Peter
speaks of our reaction to the free gift,
or the things that we should do
because we love it and we accept it.
Take your Bible and turn to 1 Peter,
1 Peter chapter 1,
and we’ll read verses 8 and 9.
Peter wrote— 
And this is remarkable,
the way he explains this matter.
He said:
“Though you never saw him
“[and it’s true;
we have never seen him, Jesus],
“you love him.
“Though you do not see him now,
“yet you exercise faith in him
“and are greatly rejoicing
“with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith,
your salvation.”
Well, it’s true,
it’s an indescribable joy that we do have
when we stop, just for a moment,
and think and meditate
on all that Jehovah has done for us
and the promises he’s made
about the future and how life is going to be
and the provisions we have even right now
with the power of his holy spirit helping us
to serve him, to honor him,
and to enjoy our portion under the sun.
It’s really quite wonderful!
And it’s not unusual
for us to experience intense feelings
of joy of heart and peace of mind
when we slow down
and just meditate and think
about the good things God has done for us
and that he’s going to do.
Jehovah’s spirit fills us
with indescribable joy, gratitude,
and trust in our great God.
And that’s what Romans 15:13 states,
Romans 15:13:
“May the God who gives hope
“fill you with all joy and peace
“by your trusting in him,
“so that you may abound in hope
with power of holy spirit.”
What a wonderful blessing!
So the many wonderful things
that Jehovah and Jesus have done for us
make us want to respond
and do whatever we can
to honor and glorify His great name
and to live for doing the will of God.
And the way we feel is described in Psalms.
If you’d like to read the psalm with me,
it’s Psalm 116:12, 14,
Psalm 116:12, 14.
This is what it says.
Psalm 116:12 says:
“With what will I repay Jehovah
for all the good he has done for me?”
And, then, if you scroll down to 14,
what does it say?
And this is our part now, our role:
“I will pay my vows to Jehovah
“[we’ve made a dedication to God,
haven’t we?]
in the presence of all his people.”
So our response to that question,
What will I repay to Jehovah?
We give it.
There’s no better purpose for living
than to honor the Christ and do God’s will,
because that is the entire will of God for us
and what we want to do to bring honor to Him.
‘What will I repay to Jehovah?’
Claude and Sandra Sauvageau
continually ask themselves this question.
Let’s see how their answers
have led to a lifetime of blessings.
My parents had a lot of influence on me
liking the preaching work.
My dad, after his work
once or twice a week,
would come home, change,
and take me preaching with him.
I took the truth because my mom, Rita,
took the truth.
She was putting some books
around the house,
and I started to read them.
And I was telling myself: ‘Wow!
‘This is the life.
‘This is awesome!
I want to do that.’
We were newlyweds.
We had no obligations
and personally, well,
we felt we could do more.
And our desire to serve more
moved us to fill out
an application for Gilead.
And so we went
to the Central African Republic
and learned a new language.
We had waiting lists of Bible studies.
It was just extraordinary!
And then I became sick,
and there was no solution,
so I was told by the doctor
I needed to come back.
Spiritually, it was difficult.
I have to say it was extremely difficult
 because our goal was crushed,
and we didn’t know exactly what to do.
At one of the very first circuit assemblies
that we went to after we were back,
there was a circuit overseer.
He was the invited guest for that assembly.
And he had known me
since I was a little girl.
I guess he saw how I felt,
and he came and talked to me.
He told me: “You have training.
“Use your training.
“Keep on using it.
“Don’t look back
at what you cannot do anymore.
Just look ahead and see what you can do.”
And that changed my life.
Slowly as my health got better,
we could do more
and we started pioneering again.
And after that,
something happened with my work.
So we moved here to the U.S.
And at that point, we had three choices:
English, French, or Spanish.
The Spanish congregation
had just been formed a few months before.
So Sandra and I sat down and said:
“Why don’t we start back again
and do what we were trained to do?”
To learn a language
—Sandra has a gift for language.
She learned it in a few months.
Me, I was a donkey.
I had to learn it and work and work
and work to learn the language.
And now we’ve been
in this congregation for 25 years,
and we really enjoy it
because now we speak Spanish.
We try to anyway.
And the result
is really, really, really good.
It’s different when you get to this age.
You have, maybe,
more worries because of that.
But Jehovah has always helped us in the past,
and he wants what we can give,
not what we cannot give.
And still Jehovah opened the doors for us.
We decided to take it.
We were in our fifties.
We were working in construction with RBC,
and Warwick comes along.
And all these
brothers and sisters are signing up,
and they’re going to Warwick,
and they come back super happy.
But the ones that did go,
they were telling us
it was very hard physically.
So I thought, ‘Well, I need to train.’
But she forgot a detail.
She put the stepladder in the living room.
It was her working booth.
She was going up and down,
up and down, up and down
—for what? 15 minutes?—
just to be sure she got the rhythm.
It was a funny look to see the whole thing.
But, hey, she prepared herself for that.
And it was very good.
Both of us put together, we’ve been
serving Jehovah for over 100 years.
We have been able to share in LDC work,
in prison witnessing, in harbor witnessing.
And really, we see Jehovah
—how (the little bit you can give him)
he always outgives you.
He gives us a life that we can never regret.
We have that zeal, the enthusiasm.
We want to coach younger ones
to do the same thing,
you know, and that is the beauty of it.
We don’t retire.
We continue to serve Jehovah.
Serving Jehovah: This is the best thing
you can ever do in life.
So why stop?
Just continue to do it.
The Sauvageaus
never lost their hunger
to give back to Jehovah.
Fittingly, this month’s music video
is a heartfelt thank you to Jehovah
for his generosity.
Golden sunset on a glist’ning bay,
Watching the palm trees gently sway,
A hint of smoke from a cozy fire—
Your goodness makes me feel inspired.
Days like this truly build my faith
And make me stop to appreciate
All of the wonderful things you’ve done
And how you freely share them with ev’ryone.
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
You give me good things in an overflow,
Like pearls of wisdom that help me grow.
Your words of truth keep refreshing me,
Like waves that roll in endlessly.
’Cause you provide me with life’s water free,
I want to share it with all those I meet,
Spreading good news from shore to shore
And knocking on every single door, just like
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
The way you open your hand
Makes me feel so close to you.
The way you do not hold back
Fills my heart with gratitude.
I want to imitate your generosity—
Giving to others, showing love unselfishly.
The way you open your hand—
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
That’s how I want to be.
We can’t help but feel close
to a God who gives so much.
He gives us his written Word,
packed with valuable lessons.
He gives us opportunities
to assist others
with compassion and kindness.
And he gives us reminders
of our true value.
Now we’re excited to share a special treat
—your invitation
to the 2026 “Eternal Happiness”
Regional Convention!
Happiness
—many believe it comes from experiencing
the good things in life.
But what happens when life
takes an unexpected turn?
Is it possible to find lasting happiness?
Nearly 2,000 years ago,
Jesus taught that true happiness
comes from a meaningful relationship
with our Creator.
“Happy are those conscious
of their spiritual need.
“Happy are the mild-tempered.
“Happy are the merciful.
“Happy are the pure in heart.
Happy are the peacemakers.”
Those teachings have great value today.
Join us at the 2026 “Eternal Happiness”
Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses
to discover how.
Through Bible-based discourses,
interviews, and videos,
see how Jesus’ teachings
are helping people today
find true happiness.
Conventions are being held worldwide,
and admission is free.
Find a location near you at jw.org.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Please share the invitation
to this heartwarming convention
with neighbors and family.
We’re also happy to release
the convention song
for 2026.
It’s entitled “Happy Are These Eyes.”
The song and lyrics
are now available for download
in <i>JW Library®</i> and on jw.org.
We encourage you
to practice this song at home
so that you’ll be prepared
to sing it out from the heart
at the convention.
Also, if the words
are available in your language,
“Happy Are These Eyes” will be sung
at the conclusion of the midweek meeting
during the week of April 20, 2026.
Our postcard this month
comes from an island that is year after year
the most visited in the Caribbean
—the Dominican Republic.
It’s where you’ll find
the highest mountain peak in the Caribbean
and the highly prized blue amber.
A hike through its mountains and waterfalls
might give you a glimpse of animals
that are found in few other places:
the rhinoceros iguana;
the Hispaniolan solenodon, or agouta;
and the conspicuously noisy palmchat bird.
Dominican people are known for their warm,
lively spirit and are quick
to make you feel at home.
For large gatherings, they might prepare 
<i>sancocho, </i>a hearty stew
that’s a crowd favorite.
The Dominican Republic
is the birthplace of merengue,
a style of music and dance
that’s integral to daily life.
The Dominican flag is the only national flag
that displays an image of a Bible.
It’s open to the words at John 8:32:
“The truth will set you free.”
True to Jesus’ words,
thousands there have learned Bible truth
and have been set free from nationalism
and religious falsehood.
The preaching work began in April 1945
with the arrival of missionaries
Lennart and Virginia Johnson.
They got to work and started Bible studies
the same day they arrived.
Later, more missionaries arrived,
and many people started attending meetings
in their missionary home.
Just three years later,
about 110 publishers
were preaching the good news.
This growth did not go unnoticed.
Under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo,
our brothers suffered intense persecution.
Trujillo solidified his power
with support from the Vatican.
All churches on the island
were required to post a sign that read
“God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth.”
But our brothers did not compromise.
The government banned our activities in 1950
and again in 1957.
During this time, our brothers and sisters
showed remarkable perseverance,
preaching discreetly
and printing publications in secret,
as seen in this reenactment.
Despite the ban, Jehovah’s people
in the Dominican Republic
enjoyed remarkable increases.
The second ban was lifted in 1960.
Today, there are more than
38,000 publishers conducting
over 45,000 Bible studies each month!
In addition to Spanish,
meetings are held in Haitian Creole, ASL,
English, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian.
Nestled in the mountains
about 150 kilometers, or 90 miles,
from the capital
is the small town of Constanza.
We’ll end our postcard by viewing
the Los Laureles Congregation.
It’s home to 134 publishers,
36 of whom serve as regular pioneers.
These brothers and sisters conduct
on average
more than 170 Bible studies every month!
Their territory is a joy to preach in,
not just for its beautiful mountain views,
but for the many honesthearted people
who wish to learn about Jehovah.
Your brothers and sisters
in the Los Laureles–Constanza Congregation
send you their warmest love
and Christian greetings.
From the World Headquarters
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
this is JW Broadcasting.


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